Faith That Looks Forward

Alan Gardiner set sail in 1851 with five other missionaries. He felt the call of God to take the gospel to a tribe no one else had reached in one of the most remote parts of the world.

Sadly, they shipwrecked on an island off the tip of South Africa with no way of ever leaving.

One by one they starved to death. Alan Gardiner was the last one left alive. When searchers found the bodies, Alan’s journal was lying by his side. The last words he wrote were Psalm 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.”

And then he added, “I am overwhelmed by the sense of the goodness of God.” James Merritt, 52 Weeks through the Bible: Fall in Love with the Book That Changed Everything (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2016), 134.

Can you imagine embarking on a worthy endeavor you believed was in step with God’s calling on your life and one that would honor Him and then dying without ever being able to accomplish it?

In the last moments of your life would you question God or be overwhelmed by the sense of God’s goodness?

When you step out in faith to do something you believed God wanted you to do, and then what you thought would happen didn’t happen, do you still trust God and keep moving forward, or do you shrink back?

For many believers, when we are in the depths of our struggles, instead of being overwhelmed by the goodness of God, we are more overwhelmed with the fear of the unknown that we shrink back in our faith doubting God’s plan and purposes.

Instead of choosing to believe in God’s promise to see us through our struggles, we focus on the hurts and uncertainty of the present and lose sight of eternity.

That’s not to minimize the situations we experience for those are very real.

But what happens when our focus turns inward is we immobilize ourselves in God’s Kingdom work

We spiral downward into “a woe is me mentality”.

We stop walking by faith and begin seeking ways to alleviate our fears through fleshly and empty solutions.

That is where Hebrews 11 speaks to us...

The people of this Jewish church were experiencing some troublesome times that impacted them deeply.

They were looking at their present situations and were being overwhelmed by them to the point they were tempted to throw away their faith and shrink back…

Was following Christ and being obedient to Him really worth the cost?

So the writer reminds them of faithful people who went through similar and sometimes even harsher situations who moved forward in faith instead of falling back in fear.

Just as this chapter was to speak to them, it speaks to all of us who are facing or will be facing some difficult days ahead...

Everyday we wake up not knowing what that day will bring…

We see a culture that increasingly moves away from God and in so doing is hostile towards believers and the principles of God’s Word.

It is a very real possibility that your decision to follow Christ will be met with hostility and hardship and you have to decide if it is worth it...

Will you find encouragement in those who have gone before you?

Or will you move to the shadows, keep your head down and hope no one sees you?

With those thoughts in mind let us turn our attention to Hebrews 11:20-40.

Main Point: Faith Looks Forward, Refusing to Fear the Present.

For those who are in Christ, we can stare this present life in the face, with all its difficulties and struggles, and say with confidence, God always keeps His promises…

...regardless of the circumstances we can conclude our walk of faith in obedience is worth it and we keep moving forward...

What does a faith that looks forward look like?

Three characteristics of a faith that looks forward without fear...

Faith that Looks Forward Strengthens You to Finish Well (20-22).

Hebrews 11:20–22 “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.”

The writer mentions three patriarchs of the Hebrews at moments in their history when death was on the horizon.

He doesn’t mention much about these patriarchs...

Isaac — Had a faith that didn’t need to see the present to know the future was secure.

We see this in Genesis 27.

Esau was first and by cultural standards should have been the chosen one.

Jacob received the blessing by deception.

Isaac was blind and deceived but still knew God would bring about what He promised and carried through with the blessing.

Even though man plots and schemes against God, we can have confidence that God will always bring about His plan.

Daniel 4:34–35 ““But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

Jacob — Had a faith that moved him to worship while dying.

Gen 47:31.

Jacob wanted his children and grandchildren to know God’s mercy and grace were with him through all his life and in his death...

Death is always present and we never know when it will strike…however, Believers do not fear death, we embrace it!

Walking by faith leads to a life of worship in both life and death…speaking long after we’re gone!

Joseph — Had a faith that impacted future generations.

The Genesis account of Joseph covers Gen 37-50…yet here, out of all the events in Joseph’s life…we only read about what he did when he was dying.

Regardless of his position, (explain) he knew Egypt was not his home and believed God would deliver His people to that land…so at the end of his life, his faith is still strong...

He prophesies concerning the Exodus and he made his brothers promise to take his bones when they entered and bury them there.

This was not an act of nostalgia or superstition, this was truly an act of faith.

That would not happen for 400 years…think about that…because of how Joseph’s faith impacted his decisions, those decisions impacted an entire nation, two nations…both Egypt and Israel....

His faith had such an impact, that his mummified remains were kept around for that entire time of their slavery in Egypt until Moses would take them when they left (Ex 13:19), and Joshua would be the one to bury them in the Promised Land (Josh 24:32)…

Implications

Be absolutely convinced that heaven is your eternal home because you are in Christ.

Be fully engaged in passing on your faith to every generation.

Live a life of worship today leaving no questions you trust God with your tomorrows.

A second characteristic...

Faith that Looks Forward is Not Afraid to Obey God (23-38).

Faith obeys by rejecting worldly allurements (23-28)

Hebrews 11:23–28 “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.”

The writer spends a significant amount of time with Moses.

He first talks about the faith of Moses’ parents…

like every believing parent does they believed God had something greater in store for their child besides death…

that is the meaning of the term beautiful…divine favor...

notice they were not afraid of the king’s edict…to disobey meant certain death…they rejected the allurement of life itself to do what was right!

Regardless of what would happen to them, they believed God and kept Moses alive and God rewarded their faith.

then he moves to the faith of Moses...

He rejected the allurement of fame and power…refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter...

chose instead to be counted with the people of God…

identified with the slaves...

He rejected the allurement of fleeting sinful pleasures…choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

Let’s be honest...Sin is fun…rebelliously choosing our own way...it feeds our desire to be our own god...

Not for Moses…Moses, and men of faith like him, all have sense enough to weigh the short term over against the long term

He rejected the allurement of financial wealth…considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward

Moses had eternity in view and could not place a higher value on the temporal than the eternal.

What is meant by the “reproach of Christ”...

Christ…the Anointed One, the Messiah...

Moses connected himself to the promise of the Messiah and the Messiah’s people.

He didn’t need to know WHO the Messiah was…He knew there would be ONE because God promised He would come…and he chose to identify with Him…whatever it entailed to be identified with Him, Moses was willing to endure.

looking - literally “looked away”…

He looked away from all those things and intently focused ahead seeing what lies ahead as the reality.

He took the time to compare earthly riches with spiritual riches and he knew which one had greater value...

This is where we need to pause for just a moment and consider where we have placed our focus…

Some believers live life this side of heaven looking at life this way (show picture of actor Steve Buschemi being crossed eyed)…

We try to have one eye on the allurements of this world and we pursue them and one eye on the things of God and pursue them…

What happens at that point is we are paralyzed by fear because our heart is confused of which direction to go...

The fear of not having those allurements makes us wrongly conclude our life is less than ideal.

We spiral downward doing nothing for God because we are stuck trying to figure out what should be done!

We need to step out in faith, doing what we can and ought to do, and trust God for the rest.

…God provides more than we could ever ask or think when we choose to walk in obedience....

The example of Moses calls us to look away from the world and look unto the author and perfecter of our faith…to fix our eyes on Jesus…

He rejected the allurement of safety……By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.

He didn’t need or want the protection of the earthly king.

He already knew the Heavenly Sovereign King is greater!

Faith obeys even when it seems illogical (29-31).

Hebrews 11:29–31 “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.”

Moses’ obeyed God’s directives for the Passover when it seemed illogical…who puts blood over their doorpost?…God’s people do when they believe God will do what He said He would do...

Israel followed Moses through the parted sea walking on dry ground…who steps into the middle of the ground that was just covered by the sea expecting to walk across it with no problem...God’s people do when they believe God is the great deliverer...

Joshua obeyed God’s directives for a military victory when it seemed illogical…who wins a battle by marching around a city seven times without ever fighting the enemy…God’s people do when they believe God will do what He said He would do...

Rahab the harlot obeyed God in protecting His spies when it seemed illogical…who stands against their families and their countrymen in doing what is right? God’s people do when they believe God will do what He said He would do...

The world wants to label us as fools for wanting to follow God…what you hold to is illogical…what is good is now called evil and what is evil is now called good...

To hold to the traditional marriage of man and woman is illogical...

To espouse that God created only two genders, male and female is illogical...

To believe that life begins at conception is illogical...

Let’s face the truth here...Believers really are a peculiar bunch anyways…some are more peculiar than others…but listen to this…Believers are the only ones who...

Die so they can live...

Become poor so they can be rich...

Loose their life so they can find it...

Already perfected not yet glorified…

Chose to live righteously today in light of what we will be in the future...

Those are just some of the descriptions the Bible says about us...

Whose label would you rather possess?

World...The illogical fool...

God…Faithful servant

Faith obeys regardless of the outcome (32-38).

Hebrews 11:32–38 “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.”

The writer goes into supersonic mode now in listing more heroes of faith…they can be placed in two categories...

Those whose faith resulted in successful outcomes...

Those whose faith resulted in “failure”

…please note the word failure is in quotes…meaning it wasn’t really failure at all…it would only be considered a failure in the eyes of the world...

Whether our stand of faith ends in success or failure is not the issue…the issue is our heart…

Are we willing to obey God even if the outcome we want or expected doesn’t happen?

Remember Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego…they would not bow down…they believed that God would rescue them but if He chose not to rescue them in their way, they would still obey God…

They concluded that regardless of the outcome, God still delivers!

Daniel 3:17–18 (NASB95)

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Or Habakkuk…when facing the harsh reality of impending captivity and his country being invaded by the ruthless Babylonians as God’s judgment upon Judah.

Habakkuk 3:17–18 (NASB95)

Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Having faith does not guarantee that you will escape persecution or suffering

What faith does, however, is enable you to triumph over it.

To be able to endure it and overcome it.

Faith says, “God, whatever You have for me to do is OK with me. I will die for You or live for You.”

For some it may be more difficult than the others.

Either way, faith commits itself into the hands of God for His use—whatever that may be.

What is God asking you to do today that requires you to step out in obedience and trust Him for the outcome?…

Whether or not God responds in the way you think He should, God is calling you to trust Him…

Begin with salvation...

More faithful walk…give examples

You don’t have to see the end of your decision to obey…you need to trust God because He is completely trustworthy.

Faith That Looks Forward Patiently Waits for the Promised Glory (39-40)

Hebrews 11:39–40 “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

Old Testament saints patiently looked forward to their coming perfection.

They did not receive what was promised

They gained eternal approval because of their faith

…all of them died without being perfected…

they believed God would perfect them in their identification with the Messiah…they did not see the Messiah in their time…yet they continued to walk by faith

In God’s ultimate scope of salvation, none of them reached the ultimate goal to which they looked forward…

they received many promises, but there still remained one promise…

their faith could not be fully rewarded until the coming of Jesus Christ.

The writer of Hebrews wants his readers to be motivated by their faith to choose faith over fear because we have something better.

what the OT saints looked forward to receiving has come and now is available to every NT believer in Jesus Christ...

If these OT saints lived by faith looking forward into what shall be, you can live by faith by looking to what is already here!

New Testament saints patiently look forward for our completed perfection.

v. 40…the writer concludes this hall of faith with the words… “so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

What he is saying is that is only with the NT believer that God’s purpose has reached its ultimate goal.

For the OT saints, the best was yet to be; for us it is already here.

That is why in their own lifetime they could never be “made perfect”

there was always more to come.

For us, we experience the fullness of salvation in Jesus Christ alone.

The OT way could not fully deliver…the NT way of Jesus as the Promised Messiah is the only way!

We are to see our position in Christ is one of completed perfection…

the moment we trust Christ in salvation the Holy Spirit takes us and identifies as a child of God, imputes the righteousness of Christ to our account, makes us complete in Christ…there is nothing more we need to be positionally secure.

When we trusted in Jesus Christ, our position with God changed from that of condemned to perfected…

Our practice of righteousness is not yet perfected!

Scripture speaks of us progressively becoming more like Christ in the practice of holiness…we put off…change our thinking…put on…this takes godly discipline…sustained daily effort...

This side of heaven we will never be completely perfect in our practice because of the present reality of sin…once we enter heaven…the presence of sin is removed...

Here is the beauty of all this…we apply spiritual discipline towards godliness today, while living on earth, because there is coming a day when we won’t have to practice it in glory… we will be finally perfect as our Savior is perfect! (INSERT AMEN)

When we get to heaven we will be fully united to Christ, along with the OT saints and no longer have to struggle with the presence of sin…

we will experience the completion of our salvation in practical terms…

We are not there yet, but we keep going.

We live by faith, not fearing the present because we believe in the God who promised a future glory…

1 John 3:2–3 (NASB95)

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

The writer of Hebrews knew this…and he wanted his readers to know this and to make the decision to choose faith over fear…

Lesson for Life…Fix Your Eyes Ahead

The writer of Hebrews is going to say more about this in chapter 12...

Whatever happens this side of heaven, don’t let it immobilize you from doing what you know pleases God...

Don’t lose sight of your glorious future and completed transformation into the perfected likeness of our Savior.

We have so many examples of faith who concluded “IT IS WORTH IT”…and moved forward...will you be one of them too?